Bold Reforms Are Getting Positive Results for the People of Wisconsin

[Madison, Wis.] – In case you missed it, Governor Scott Walker detailed in the 2018 State of the State Address how Wisconsin is in a historically strong position and how his Ambitious Agenda will keep Wisconsin moving forward.

Governor Walker’s bold reforms are producing positive results for the people of Wisconsin, including budget surpluses, over $8 billion in tax relief, historic investments in our classrooms and more. To keep the state’s future bright, Governor Walker introduced an Ambitious Agenda that continues to prioritize Wisconsin’s students, stabilize health care, reform welfare and return the budget surplus to the people through a $100 child tax credit for hard-working families.

Scott Walker Proposes Sweeping Agenda for Wisconsin in Pre-Election State of the State Address
Jessie Opoien
The Cap Times
January 24, 2018

As he prepares to seek re-election for a third term, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker unveiled on Wednesday a set of proposals he calls an “ambitious agenda” …

In his annual State of the State address to the Legislature, Walker called on lawmakers to support measures to increase health insurance access, give more money to rural and frugal school districts, tighten restrictions on welfare programs and put more money in parents’ pockets. …

A focal point of Walker’s speech was a proposed tax credit for parents, set at $100 per child. The credit would cost an estimated $122 million, to be drawn from an unexpected $137.5 million budget surplus. …

Walker argued the state is in good shape in large part due to savings realized through his signature Act 10 legislation, which eliminated collective bargaining abilities for most public employees. He highlighted the state’s 3 percent unemployment rate, the lowest it’s ever been.

“Those results now allow us to invest record amounts into our schools and into other priorities while still making Wisconsin more affordable for the hard-working taxpayers of this state. Now, we want to keep moving Wisconsin forward,” Walker said. …

Walker touted the elimination of the state’s portion of the property tax, done in the most recent state budget, and an analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau that shows property taxes and income taxes will be lower for Wisconsin residents in 2018 than in 2010.

Walker is asking lawmakers to pass legislation that would bar insurance companies in the state from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions. He also plans to request a federal reinsurance waiver in an effort to lower premiums for people covered under the individual market, and to request a permanent extension on Wisconsin’s SeniorCare prescription drug program. Top Republicans say they back the plan. …